CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA January 12, 1998 rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from Radio Havana Cuba's news service for Monday, January 12, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- MASSIVE AND ENTHUSIASTIC VOTER TURN-OUT IN ELECTIONS 2.- U.S. DAILY "THE TAMPA TRIBUNE" TAKES NOTE OF GROWING OPPOSITION TO BLOCKADE OF CUBA 3.- CUBAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES CONFERS HONORARY MEMBERSHIP ON PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO 4.- MALAWI PARLIAMENTARIANS VISIT CUBA 5.- ANNIVERSARY OF CUBAN HEROINE'S DEATH RECALLED 6.- SPANISH COMMUNISTS UNDERSCORE CUBAN PEOPLE'S RESISTANCE 7.- COMMEMORATIONS MARKING 50th ANNIVERSARY OF MURDER OF JESUS MENENDEZ MASSIVE AND ENTHUSIASTIC VOTER TURN-OUT IN ELECTIONS Havana, January 12(RHC)-- Massive and enthusiastic voter turn- out characterized Sunday's general elections in Cuba. According to electoral authorities, three hours before the polls closed, 96.3 percent of the electorate had cast their ballots for 601 members of Cuba's National Assembly of People's Power and 1110 candidates for the Provincial Assemblies. International news agencies reported today that the massive voter turn-out has translated into a significant display of popular support for Cuban President Fidel Castro, just ten days before the visit of Pope John Paul II. After casting his own vote in Santiago de Cuba yesterday, the Cuban leader said that taking into account the economic hardships of the past five years, an 80 percent voter turn-out would be extraordinary, while a more than 90 percent turn-out would be exceptional. The leader of the Cuban Revolution said he saw an entire people mobilized and enthusiastic. The local media in Cuba called the elections a plebiscite in favor of the homeland, democracy and socialism. Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage told reporters that the electoral process represented "yet another victory for the Cuban Revolution." U.S. DAILY "THE TAMPA TRIBUNE" TAKES NOTE OF GROWING OPPOSITION TO BLOCKADE OF CUBA Tampa, January 12(RHC)-- Pope John Paul II's upcoming visit to Cuba and his previous denunciations of the U.S. blockade of the Caribbean island have reinvigorated the debate over the controversial policy, according to today's edition of "The Tampa Tribune." The Florida news daily wrote today that the legislation to lift restrictions of U.S. exports of food and medicine to Cuba is gathering unprecedented bipartisan support in Congress and that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will unleash a nationwide lobbying campaign to scrap the entire embargo. On Tuesday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will launch the campaign with the financial support of several major U.S. corporations, including the food giant Archer-Daniel Midland Company based in Illinois. At the helm of the effort is former U.S. Representative Sam Gibbons of Tampa, who -- despite his opposition to Cuba's socialist regime -- called the blockade "the best illustrated policy failure in American history." According to The Tampa Tribune, Democratic Representative Esteban Torres of California filed a bill last June to end trade restrictions on food and medicine -- legislation that has more than 90 co-sponsors in the House. The Tampa Tribune quoted Torres, who said: "This kind of foreign policy does not work. It has done nothing but inflict tremendous pain and suffering on the Cuban people. We don't do anything like this to any other country. We don't do it to Vietnam. We don't do it to North Korea. We don't even do it to Iraq." The Tampa Tribute article also quotes right-wing Cuban- American Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who acknowledged that political support for the trade restrictions is beginning to erode. Ros-Lehtinen said that members of Congress are being barraged by church groups from Southern Baptists to Lutherans, who consider the embargo inhumane and are increasingly letting their representatives in Washington know it. In response to a report last March by the American Association of World Health, harshly criticizing the U.S. blockade of Cuba for causing severe shortages of medicine and public health equipment on the island, the U.S. State Department claimed that since 1992, 36 out of 39 requests for medical export licenses to Cuba have been approved. But Doctor Anthony Kirkpatrick of the University of South Florida said his research shows the United States has allowed only 19 medical export licenses since 1992. Kirkpatrick has called on the State Department to provide documentation proving the agency's numbers are correct, but his request has been ignored. Congressman Torres has since taken up Kirkpatrick's cause and is also demanding the State Department provide the documentation. According to today's edition of The Tampa Tribune, if Torres does not receive a response in the near future, he will call for a congressional inquiry. CUBAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES CONFERS HONORARY MEMBERSHIP ON PRESIDENT FIDEL CASTRO Havana, January 12(RHC)-- The Cuban Academy of Sciences granted the category of First Honorary Member of that institution to Cuban President Fidel Castro. The honorary membership was conferred on the Cuban leader by representatives of the island's scientific community during a meeting to select 43 outstanding scientific works among 211 proposed during 1997. MALAWI PARLIAMENTARIANS VISIT CUBA Havana, January 12(RHC)-- The President of the Malawi Parliament Rodwell Munyenbembe arrived in Havana for an official visit to strengthen links between that African nation and Cuba. The two countries established diplomatic relations one month ago. The Malawi delegation was welcomed at Jose Marti International Airport by Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon. Upon arrival, the African legislator said that his visit is aimed at exchanging experiences between the two peoples. On Monday, the African parliamentarians met with Alarcon and with Deputy Foreign Investment Minister Noemi Benitez and toured Havana's Genetics Engineering and Biotechnology Center. ANNIVERSARY OF CUBAN HEROINE'S DEATH RECALLED Havana, January 12(RHC)-- The 18th anniversary of the death of Cuban heroine Celia Sanchez Manduley was commemorated over the weekend with a pilgrimage to her grave at the Cuban Armed Forces Pantheon in Havana's Colon Cemetery. Sanchez fought during the last stage of the island's struggle that led to the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. She also played an outstanding role in the island's history during the first 20 years of the Revolution. Cuban Communist Party Political Bureau members Ricardo Alarcon and Esteban Laso attended the ceremony along with members of the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution, the Federation of Cuban Women and others. At the ceremony, Nilda Quintero, Secretary of the Federation of Cuban Women in Havana, stressed Sanchez' outstanding underground work during the struggle in the Sierra Maestra mountains and highlighted the confidence that Cuban President Fidel Castro placed in her. SPANISH COMMUNISTS UNDERSCORE CUBAN PEOPLE'S RESISTANCE Madrid, January 12(RHC)-- The Spanish Communist Party's Federal Committee has described the Cuban people's resistance as "nothing short of heroic." The statement was made at a meeting in Madrid, the Spanish capital, to analyze the international situation. The Spanish communists underscored the struggle waged by the Cuban people since the collapse of socialism in Eastern Europe and Washington's stepped-up attempts to crush the Cuban Revolution. At the gathering, the Spanish Communist Party leadership came out in favor of the need to form coalitions among parties and political organizations that oppose neoliberalism and the rise of U.S. hegemony. COMMEMORATIONS MARKING 50th ANNIVERSARY OF MURDER OF JESUS MENENDEZ Havana, January 12(RHC)-- Activities marking the 50th anniversary of the murder of Cuban working class movement leader Jesus Menendez got underway Monday in the Cuban capital. Jesus Menendez was an outstanding leader who led the struggles for the rights of the island's sugar workers against large U.S. and Cuban sugar mill owners in the 1940's. His efforts earned him prestige among the workers and hatred from government circles and landowners, who finally ordered his assassination in the eastern city of Manzanillo in January 1948. A scientific event at the Cuban Institute of History, which opened today in Havana, is aimed at examining the life of Jesus Menendez and the historical significance of his murder. On January 22nd -- the anniversary of his assassination -- residents in Manzanillo will hold the main rally to mark the date. And in the Cuban capital on the 22nd, Havana residents will conduct a pilgrimage to Colon Cemetery where Jesus Menendez is buried. [c] 1997. Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. This prohibition includes the distribution of this material via Usenet News, "bulletin board" services, e-mail lists, print media, radio and television. For the complete RADIO HAVANA CUBA NEWSCAST and other features, please write for our daily broadcast schedule. We welcome your comments and suggestions. For further information, contact us at: Postal Address: Radio Havana Cuba P.O.Box 6240 Havana, Cuba Telephone: (53) (7) 814243 Fax: (53) (7) 812927 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org WWW: http://www.radiohc.org